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CITAC ANNOUNCES NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM

Washington, DC – The Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC) has chosen The CMR Group, a Washington-based Public Affairs and Government Relations Consulting Firm, to serve as the new management arm of the organization. Steve Alexander, president and founder of The CMR Group, will serve as CITAC's new Executive Director, in addition to leading the coalition’s government relations activities.

CITAC was formed in 1999 to provide a voice for consuming industries. It sprang from the "Short Supply Coalition" in the early 1990s.

CITAC mobilized steel consumers to oppose the attempted steel import quotas in 1999 and the steel Section 201 tariffs. Alexander played a leading role in CITAC's successful lobbying efforts to terminate the Section 201 steel tariffs. CITAC also last year formed the Shrimp Task Force that represented a wide range of consuming industries to ensure that the U.S. government considers all the facts on a shrimp anti-dumping petition with a full understanding of the national ramifications of any decision.

"Steve is an experienced government affairs executive with a great understanding of consuming industries and the trade issues that are challenging our businesses," said Michael Fanning, CITAC Chairman and Vice President for Corporate Affairs at Michelin North America.

"Steve will provide the strong leadership needed to achieve CITAC's ambitious agenda for 2005 and we are excited to have him as part of the management team," added Lewis Leibowitz, CITAC Counsel and Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLP.

Foremost among CITAC's trade priorities in 2005 is repeal of the Byrd Amendment, formally known as the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, that requires the government to distribute antidumping and countervailing duties to U.S. companies that have petitioned the federal government for protection, rather than to the U.S. Treasury.

"CITAC has established itself as the leading voice of consuming industries on trade issues and I look forward to building on its past successes," said Alexander. "CITAC's priority is repeal of the Byrd Amendment, which is corporate welfare at its worst, WTO illegal, and damaging to U.S. consuming and other industries. Our first objective is to help Congress and the Administration understand the impact of trade policy decisions such as the Byrd Amendment on the downstream economy. A full spectrum of the economy can be greatly affected by bad trade actions. CITAC's job is to bring those issues to light and help manufacturers in this country obtain access to a steady supply of globally priced raw material to stay competitive."

Alexander will be responsible for all management functions of the organization, including membership initiatives, in addition to serving as primary spokesperson on Capitol Hill.

Alexander's firm, The CMR Group, continues to work to provide clients with strategic advice and counsel to achieve their objectives before Congress, Regulatory agencies and the Executive branch. Over the past several years, he has represented clients as diverse as the CITAC Steel Task Force, the Coca-Cola Company, Eastman Kodak Co., EMD Chemicals, the Furniture Retailers of America, Illinois Tool Works, Lennox International and Underwriter Laboratories.

Prior to forming CMR, Mr. Alexander spent more than 20 year representing corporate and association clients on Capitol Hill and in State Houses across the country, including ten years with Eastman Kodak Company, where he specialized in environment, technology and appropriations issues.

CITAC is a coalition of companies and organizations committed to promoting a trade arena where U.S. consuming industries and their workers have access to global markets for imports that enhance the international competitiveness of American firms.

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